In part two of our interview, Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño discusses why President Rafael Correa is not attending this week’s United Nations General Assembly; the plight of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than 450 days in the Ecuador’s London embassy after being granted asylum last year; and Ecuador’s role this past summer in the drama surrounding National Security Agency leaker Edward...

Hugo Chávez’s former foreign minister and vice president, Nicolás Maduro, narrowly won Sunday’s election to fill out the remainder of Chávez’s term following his death from cancer last month. The National Electoral Council of Venezuela says Maduro received 50.7 percent of the vote, besting opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski’s 49.1 percent. The race was far closer than the contest in October when Chávez beat...

Millions are gathering in Caracas to mourn the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on the day of his funeral. More than 30 world leaders are expected to attend today’s ceremony as Venezuelans brave long lines to see Chávez lying in state. We go to Caracas to speak with Carol Delgado, Venezuelan consul general in New York, who has returned home for the funeral. Delgado responds to the torrent of U.S. corporate media criticism that has...

With the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez after a two-year fight with cancer, we host a roundtable discussion on a revolutionary leader whose democratic-socialist policies not only transformed his country, but helped steer the entire Latin American region away from U.S.-backed neoliberalism. We’re joined by five guests: Miguel Tinker Salas, Pomona College professor and author of two books on Venezuela; Venezuelan-American...

After a two-year battle with cancer, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has died at the age of 58. The news was delivered by Vice President Nicolás Maduro, who said, "It’s a moment of deep pain." See Democracy Now!’s interviews with the socialist leader and in-depth related coverage.

Venezuela has postponed today’s presidential inauguration as Hugo Chávez remains hospitalized in Cuba. The Venezuelan Supreme Court says Chávez is still president, but the opposition is calling for a caretaker government and new elections. We host a debate on Chávez’s presidency and what is next for Venezuela with Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and Miguel...

As Venezuela says President Hugo Chávez has undergone successful cancer surgery in Cuba, after disclosing that his cancer had returned, we revisit a 2009 interview in which he discusses climate change and President Obama. [includes rush transcript]

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone has taken on three American presidents in JFK, Nixon and W. and the most controversial aspects of the war in Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. He looked at the greed of the financial industry in the Hollywood hit Wall Street and its forthcoming sequel. In South of the Border, his latest documentary out this week in the United States, Stone takes a road trip across South America, meeting with...

We speak with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez about climate change, the Copenhagen summit and President Obama. Chávez calls the COP15 summit undemocratic and accuses world leaders of only seeking a face-saving agreement. "We must reduce all the emissions that are destroying the planet," Chávez says. "That requires a change in the economic model: We must go from capitalism to socialism." [includes rush transcript]